Case Number(s): 11-O-10138
In the Matter of: SUSAN KATHLEEN HOLLIDAY, Bar #96472, A Member of the State Bar of California, (Respondent).
Counsel For The State Bar: Monique T. Miller, 1149 South Hill Street
Los Angeles, California 90015
(213) 765-1486
Bar #212469
Counsel for Respondent: In Pro Per Respondent
Susan Kathleen Holliday
6520 N. Irwindale Avenue Suite 201
Irwindale, California 91702
(626) 815-4222
Bar # 96472
Submitted to: Assigned Judge, State Bar Court Clerk’s Office Los Angeles
checked PREVIOUS STIPULATION REJECTED
Note: All information required by this form and any additional information which cannot be provided in the space provided, must be set forth in an attachment to this stipulation under specific headings, e.g., "Facts," "Dismissals," "Conclusions of Law," "Supporting Authority," etc.
1. Respondent is a member of the State Bar of California, admitted December 30, 1980.
2. The parties agree to be bound by the factual stipulations contained herein even if conclusions of law or disposition are rejected or changed by the Supreme Court.
3. All investigations or proceedings listed by case number in the caption of this stipulation are entirely resolved by this stipulation and are deemed consolidated. Dismissed charge(s)/count(s) are listed under "Dismissals." The stipulation consists of 13 pages, not including the order.
4. A statement of acts or omissions acknowledged by Respondent as cause or causes for discipline is included under "Facts."
5. Conclusions of law, drawn from and specifically referring to the facts are also included under "Conclusions of Law".
6. The parties must include supporting authority for the recommended level of discipline under the heading "Supporting Authority."
7. No more than 30 days prior to the filing of this stipulation, Respondent has been advised in writing of any pending investigation/proceeding not resolved by this stipulation, except for criminal investigations.
8. Payment of Disciplinary Costs-Respondent acknowledges the provisions of Bus. & Prof. Code §§6086.10 & 6140.7. (Check one option only):
<<not>> checked. Until costs are paid in full, Respondent will remain actually suspended from the practice of law unless relief is obtained per rule 5.130, Rules of Procedure.
checked. Costs are to be paid in equal amounts prior to February 1 for the following membership years: 2012 and 2013. (Hardship, special circumstances or other good cause per rule 5.132, Rules of Procedure.) If Respondent fails to pay any installment as described above, or as may be modified by the State Bar Court, the remaining balance is due and payable immediately.
<<not>> checked. Costs are waived in part as set forth in a separate attachment entitled "Partial Waiver of Costs".
<<not>> checked. Costs are entirely waived.
Case Number(s): 11-O-10138
In the Matter of: SUSAN KATHLEEN HOLLIDAY
a. Restitution
checked. Respondent must pay restitution (including the principal amount, plus interest of 10% per annum) to the payee(s) listed below. If the Client Security Fund (“CSF”) has reimbursed one or more of the payee(s) for all or any portion of the principal amount(s) listed below, Respondent must also pay restitution to CSF in the amount(s) paid, plus applicable interest and costs.
1. Payee: Janis McCoy
Principal Amount: $7,900
Interest Accrues From: May 1, 2011
2. Payee:
Principal Amount:
Interest Accrues From:
3. Payee:
Principal Amount:
Interest Accrues From:
4. Payee:
Principal Amount:
Interest Accrues From:
<<not>> checked. Respondent must pay above-referenced restitution and provide satisfactory proof of payment to the Office of Probation not later than
<<not>> checked. Respondent must pay the above-referenced restitution on the payment schedule set forth below. Respondent must provide satisfactory proof of payment to the Office of Probation with each quarterly probation report, or as otherwise directed by the Office of Probation. No later than 30 days prior to the expiration of the period of probation (or period of reproval), Respondent must make any necessary final payment(s) in order to complete the payment of restitution, including interest, in full.
1. Payee/CSF (as applicable) Janis McCoy
Minimum Payment Amount $500
Payment Frequency 15th of each month
2. Payee/CSF (as applicable)
Minimum Payment Amount
Payment Frequency
3. Payee/CSF (as applicable)
Minimum Payment Amount
Payment Frequency
4. Payee/CSF (as applicable)
Minimum Payment Amount
Payment Frequency **
checked. If Respondent fails to pay any installment as described above, or as may be modified by the State Bar Court, the remaining balance is due and payable immediately.
<<not>> checked.
1. If Respondent possesses client funds at any time during the period covered by a required quarterly report, Respondent must file with each required report a certificate from Respondent and/or a certified public accountant or other financial professional approved by the Office of Probation, certifying that:
a. Respondent has maintained a bank account in a bank authorized to do business in the State of California, at a branch located within the State of California, and that such account is designated as a “Trust Account” or “Clients’ Funds Account”;
b. Respondent has kept and maintained the following:
i. A written ledger for each client on whose behalf funds are held that sets forth:
1. the name of such client;
2. the date, amount and source of all funds received on behalf of such client;
3. the date, amount, payee and purpose of each disbursement made on behalf of such client; and,
4. the current balance for such client.
ii. a written journal for each client trust fund account that sets forth:
1. the name of such account;
2. the date, amount and client affected by each debit and credit; and,
3. the current balance in such account.
iii. all bank statements and cancelled checks for each client trust account; and,
iv. each monthly reconciliation (balancing) of (i), (ii), and (iii), above, and if there are any differences between the monthly total balances reflected in (i), (ii), and (iii), above, the reasons for the differences.
c. Respondent has maintained a written journal of securities or other properties held for clients that specifies:
i. each item of security and property held;
ii. the person on whose behalf the security or property is held;
iii. the date of receipt of the security or property;
iv. the date of distribution of the security or property; and,
v. the person to whom the security or property was distributed.
2. If Respondent does not possess any client funds, property or securities during the entire period covered by a report, Respondent must so state under penalty of perjury in the report filed with the Office of Probation for that reporting period. In this circumstance, Respondent need not file the accountant’s certificate described above.
3. The requirements of this condition are in addition to those set forth in rule 4-100, Rules of Professional Conduct.
<<not>> checked. Within one (1) year of the effective date of the discipline herein, Respondent must supply to the Office of Probation satisfactory proof of attendance at a session of the Ethics School Client Trust Accounting School, within the same period of time, and passage of the test given at the end of that session.
ATTACHMENT TO FINANCIAL CONDITIONS
RESTITUTION
Respondent started making her monthly installment restitution payments on August 15, 2011. As of November 1, 2011, the principal amount of restitution owed to Janis McCoy is $6,400.
IN THE MATTER OF: SUSAN KATHLEEN HOLLIDAY, Bar #96472
CASE NUMBER: 11-O-10138
FACTS AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
Respondent admits that the following facts are true and that she is culpable of violations of the specified statutes and/or Rules of Professional Conduct.
Case No. 11-O-10138 (Complainants: Kevin and Janis McCoy)
FACTS:
1. In November 2009, Kevin and Janis McCoy ("McCoy"), (collectively "the McCoys"), retained Respondent to settle a dispute with Lujan & Merriman Builders ("LM") and to file suit against E1 Dorado Ranch ("El Dorado"), a property development group located in San Felipe, Mexico. The McCoys had obtained a loan from LM to have a house built on a lot which the McCoys had purchased from E1 Dorado. After the house was built, E1 Dorado never brought electricity to the house, thus making it unlivable and preventing the property from becoming a mortgage. LM had to foreclose on the house and the McCoys remained liable for the homeowners’ dues ("HOA") and property taxes.
2. In November 2009, the McCoys paid Respondent $12,500 advanced fees for her legal
services.
3. In November 2010, Respondent resolved the dispute between the McCoys and LM. The McCoys surrendered the property to LM who, in turn, became liable for the HOA and property taxes.
4. In late November 2010, the McCoys decided not to pursue a suit against E1 Dorado and requested an accounting and a refund. Respondent provided an accounting, indicating that a refund of $7,881.25 unearned fees was due to the McCoys.
5. As of November 1,2011, Respondent has refunded the McCoys $1,500.
6. To date, Respondent still owes the McCoys $6,400 unearned fees.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW:
7. By not refunding $6,400 unearned fees to the McCoys, Respondent failed to promptly refund the fee paid in advance that has not been earned in willful violation of Rules of Professional Conduct, rule 3-700(D)(2).
PENDING PROCEEDINGS.
The disclosure date referred to, on page 2, paragraph A(7), was December 16, 2011.
AUTHORITIES SUPPORTING DISCIPLINE.
Standard 1.3 provides that the primary purposes of attorney discipline are "the protection of the public, the courts and the legal profession; the maintenance of high legal professional standards by attorneys and the preservation of public confidence in the legal profession."
Standard 1.7(a): if a member has a prior record of discipline, the degree of discipline imposed in the cur, rent proceeding shall be greater than that imposed in the prior discipline, unless the prior discipline was so remote in time and the offense for which it was imposed was minimal.
AGGRAVATION
The prior record, effective May 1, 1992, is remote in that it occurred more than twenty years ago but it is not minimal in that it involved five matters, affected nine clients, and resulted in substantial discipline.
On March 12, 1993, less than a year after the effective date of Respondent’s prior record, Respondent submitted her resignation with charges pending.
CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING RESPONDENT’S PRIOR & RESIGNATION
Respondent’s prior:
Respondent stipulated to the following misconduct: failure to perform, improper withdrawal, failure to communicate, to return client file, and/or to refund unearned fees.
The amount of restitution ordered by the Supreme Court was $750 plus interest to one client in Case No. 91-O-00811, and $1,525 plus interest to another client in Case No. 91-O-00614.
In the Order Approving Stipulation filed on September 6, 1991, the State Bar Court found, in aggravation, that only one client, in Case No. 87-0-18150, was harmed in that the client lost her cause of action as a result of Respondent’s failure to promptly file a complaint in a civil matter on her behalf. In mitigation, Respondent suffered incapacitating physical maladies, i.e. severe sleep deprivation, and clinical depression caused by the stress of managing a solo practicioner’s office without the appropriate
office help.
Respondent’s resignation:
In May 1992, when the prior order of discipline became effective, Respondent was ordered to comply with certain conditions of probation, to wit restitution, compliance with Rule 955, and psychiatric help from Dr. Diana Schulman.
However, as Respondent was still in the throes of an acute clinical depression, she found herself unable to comply with her conditions of probation. Dr. Schulman, her treating psychiatrist, recommended that Respondent would resign from the Bar and fully concentrate on her recovery. Rather than further taxing the resources of the State Bar, Respondent promptly followed her treating psychiatrist’s recommendation.
In February 2000, Respondent fully made all required restitution to the Client Security Fund. In July 2000, Respondent filed a first petition for reinstatement that was supplemented in August 2000. By August 2001, after Respondent had presented overwhelming proof of unblemished and exemplary conduct over an extended period of time, Respondent was found to have successfully satisfied her high burden of demonstrating rehabilitation from her prior misconduct.
ADDITIONAL MITIGATION
Since her reinstatement to the practice of law in 2001, Respondent has restructured her law practice to ensure a proper management of her caseload. Respondent brought in, as office manager, her own brother who had five years prior experience as a manager in the corporate structure of Raytheon Company.
Since 2008, Respondent has been working pro bono as a motivational speaker for "S.O.B.E.R. Offers Better Education for Recovery" International, an organization located in Montebello, California, dedicated to helping disadvantaged young women.
COSTS OF DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS.
Respondent acknowledges that the Office of the Chief Trial Counsel has informed Respondent that as of
December 16, 2011, the prosecution costs in this matter are $2,797.00. Respondent further acknowledges that should this stipulation be rejected or should relief from the stipulation be granted, the costs in this matter may increase due to the cost of further proceedings.
Case Number(s): 11-O-10138
In the Matter of: SUSAN KATHLEEN HOLLIDAY
By their signatures below, the parties and their counsel, as applicable, signify their agreement with each of the recitation and each of the terms and conditions of this Stipulation Re Facts, Conclusions of Law and Disposition.
Signed by:
Respondent: Susan K. Holliday
Date: December 15, 2011
Respondent’s Counsel:
Date:
Deputy Trial Counsel: Monique T. Miller
Date: December 15, 2011
Case Number(s): 11-O-1038
In the Matter of: SUSAN KATHLEEN HOLLIDAY
Finding the stipulation to be fair to the parties and that it adequately protects the public, IT IS ORDERED that the requested dismissal of counts/charges, if any is GRANTED without prejudice, and:
<<not>> checked. The stipulated facts and disposition are APPROVED and the DISCIPLINE RECOMMENDED to the Supreme Court.
checked. The stipulated facts and disposition are APPROVED AS MODIFIED as set forth below, and the DISCIPLINE IS RECOMMENDED to the Supreme Court.
<<not>> checked. All Hearing dates are vacated.
Page 2 A (8) Delete “2012 and 2013”
Add “2013 and 2014”
The parties are bound by the stipulation as approved unless: 1) a motion to withdraw or modify the stipulation, filed within 15 days after service of this order, is granted; or 2) this court modifies or further modifies the approved stipulation. (See rule 5.58 (E) & (F), Rules of Procedure.) The effective date of this disposition is the effective date of the Supreme Court order herein, normally 30 days after the file date. (See rule 9.18(a), California Rules of Court.)
Signed by: Richard A. Platel
Judge of the State Bar Court
Date: December 22, 2011
[Rules Proc. of State Bar; Rule 5.27(B); Code Civ. Proc., § 1013a(4)]
I am a Case Administrator of the State Bar Court of California. I am over the age of eighteen and not a party to the within proceeding. Pursuant to standard court practice, in the City and
County of Los Angeles, on, December 16, 2011, I deposited a true copy of the following document(s):
in a sealed envelope for collection and mailing on that date as follows:
checked. by first-class mail, with postage thereon fully prepaid, through the United States Postal Service at Los Angeles, California, addressed as follows:
SUSAN KATHLEEN HOLLIDAY
LAW OFC SUSAN K HOLLIDAY
6520 IRWINDALE AVE STE 201
IRWINDALE, CA 91702-2801
checked. by interoffice mail through a facility regularly maintained by the State Bar of California addressed as follows:
Monique T. Miller, Enforcement, Los Angeles
I hereby certify that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed in, California, on Los Angeles. California on December 27, 2011
Signed by: Johnnie Lee Smith
Case Administrator
State Bar Court